Okayama Adventures

Normally, I don't get to go to places that you need a car to get to (since that means relying on the kindness and time of the people around me who do have them). Today though, I went with one of my teachers (whom I'm losing in the spring due to the Great Teacher Shuffle, sadface) to an onsen in the eastern part of Japan called Notoro Onsen Tenkuu no yu 「のとろ温泉天空の湯」って。It's up in the mountains - the highest onsen in Okayama, according to my teacher. It had three baths for the women: two indoors and one huge outdoor bath that had a super amazing view of the mountains.

Oh yeah, and it was snowing. HECK YES. So we had the view of the mountains, trees covered with snow, and it was outside. :) The only thing that wasn't super awesome was the little worm thing I found on my teacher's arm from the wood haha. That was kinda gross. I blame it on the warm weather (despite the fact that it's getting colder now for some reason!).

I love onsen though. We ate lunch, stopped by a 「道の駅」"Michi no Eki" or "road's station" that sold a bunch of kinda rural things haha. I bought strawberries and veggies and zucchini seeds for really cheap. I was thinking of growing zucchini again (or trying to at least haha). Who knows how that'll go...

The last place we visited (before the supermarket anyways) was one of the three sets of caves in Okayama. I forgot the name. But there are two famous caves in Niimi City: Ikura-do and Maki-do. Ikura-do is accessible via train, while you must drive to maki-do.

We went to a different one. It was called 「備中鐘乳穴」（びっちゅうかなちあな）"Bicchu Kanachiana." It was really really pretty inside, and kind of hidden in the middle of the mountains. Like seriously, we had to drive up the mountain and then walk down to the cave. We were walking and suddenly, it was like WOAH there's a huge crack in the earth WOAH cave. I was so busy looking down (trying not to slip) that I didn't notice the entrance until really late and was so startled I nearly fell. XD


Inside was simply amazing. It's so crazy to think that inside these mountains are caves like this (I was warned not to go exploring in this area, since there were more of these kinds of hidden caves here). To me, seeing these caves is like looking at those amethyst rocks - the ones that look plain on the outside, but on the inside is just, woah. SPIKY. And beautiful.


My teacher was really surprised that I liked these kinds of things though. She told me that ALTs who like caves are kind of rare, and I think was really amused that I was constantly like "WOAH NATURE" and "OMG BEAUTIFUL" to everything along our drive to and from the onsen and inside the caves haha. 

I'm working on the post for the Philippines, but it's kinda long haha. Oops. Maybe sometime this week (I hope!). Also sometime I need to post about 大味 since I think it's an absolutely fascinating topic.


Also, facebook reminded me that today marks the one year anniversary for the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami disaster. I've been so impressed and so touched by the compassion, the hope, the whole... feeling of the entire country banding together to help out this one area. That area is still in need of help, make no mistake. It's been a long year (or short year) and there are still people who have no jobs, no livelihoods, who are still missing... 


Stay strong Japan (and everywhere that has been affected by large scale earthquakes, tsunamis, and disasters).